The New Mexico Department of Health says it has found no evidence of arsenic poisoning in Springer residents -- so far.

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Target 7 investigative reporter Ellen Goldberg sat down with the state Health Department on Saturday and got some answers about the confusion.

The state's Secretary of Health, Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the people of Springer are safe.

"There is no indication that any of the individuals in Springer have outside normal levels of arsenic in system," said Grisham. "There's not a problem.

Recently, 11 people in the small town were told they had elevated levels of arsenic in their systems.

"Nobody has arsenic poisoning, and nobody is above the normal range in that community thus far," said Grisham.

The state Health Department is referring to the range provided by the Centers for Disease Control. Lab tests used a different range that led some people in Springer to believe they had elevated levels of arsenic.

"Arsenic and related analyses are complicated, so it's more than just a single lab result to start with," said Grisham.

The state Health Department said there are two different ways to measure the amount of arsenic in a person's urine. One measures the amount of arsenic excreted in a liter of urine, and the other over an entire day. The state said the test focusing on a 24-hour period is not the appropriate test to look at.

"They don't indicate toxicity, they indicate what you'd expect to find in a community in relation to his particular substance," said Grisham.

We showed our interview with the secretary of health to Dr. Genie Brazwell, a forensic toxicologist with Tricore reference labs:

- Would you consider their readings normal?

- "I would probably repeat the tests again and see if levels are the same or dropping," said Brazwell.

The reference range Tricore uses would imply 11 people in Springer do have elevated levels of arsenic.

"It's the job of the clinical laboratory to report things conservatively," said Brazwell.

Dr. Brazwell's conclusion about arsenic in Springer, ... "There is certainly a source of it in the environ, but it doesn't appear to be a big danger," he said.

The latter, something she and the state Department of Health seem to agree upon.

"That's great news," said Grisham. "It's not a problem."

Grisham said she's in the process of notifying residents they don't have a problem, some of whom say they called the Health Department a month ago looking for help and for answers.

- Couldn't you have laid this to rest a month ago and said look at this, not this?

- "Except that we told folks we didn't think concern then," said Grisham.

And now the state plans to go back to Springer to reiterate that.

The state Health Department will host a meeting in Springer Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Luna Community College auditorium. At that meeting, they will release the results of the urine tests they collected over the past few weeks in Springer.

State Health Department employees will also be in Springer March 2-3 to conduct more urine sampling and screening.